Apparatus for binding loose leaves.



PATENTED AUG. 9, 1904.

P. A. EPTOFIE. APPARATUS FOR BINDING LOOSE LEAVES.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 23, 1904.

N0 MODEL.

Wneasea V UNITED STATES Patented August 9, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

PREDA A. EFTOFIE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 767,106, dated August9, 1904.

. Application filed February 23, 1904.. Serial No. 194,734. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PREDA A. E ToEIn, a subject of the King of Roumania,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Binding-Loose Leaves, of which the following. is a .adapted for use in bindingsheets of music,

papers, journals, periodicals, and the like;

and it consists in certain peculiarities of the construction, novelarrangement, and operation of the various parts thereof, as Wlll behereinafter more fully set forth and specifically claimed.

The principal objeet of the invention is to provide an apparatus of theabove-named character which shall be simple and inexpensive inconstruction, strong, durable, and eflicient in operation, and made insuch a manner as to be expansible, thus adapting it for binding a largenumber of leaves or a smaller amount without changing any of the partsor without the addition thereto of supplemental pieces.

Another object of the invention is to so construct the device that thebinding plates or strips thereof may be quickly secured together orreadily detached to permit of the insertion or removal of the leaves orsheets.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be disclosed in thesubjoined description and explanation.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to which my inventionpertains to make and use the same, I will now proceed to describe it,referring to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a frontView in elevation of a binder embodying my invention, showing the partsin position ready for use and illustrating a number of leaves securedtherein. Fig.

2 is a plan view of the device, showing a portion of one of the leavesheld therein. Fig. 3 is a front View, in side elevation, of a portion ofthe binder, showing its parts expanded. Fig. 4: is a similar View,partly in section, of like parts, but showing the binding-plates intheir normal positions and illustrating by dotted lines one of thelocking members for said plates in the position for securing themtogether and by full lines the same in the position it will assume whenit is desired to separate said plates. Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectionalview taken on line 5 5 of Fig. 6 of one of the locking members and apart of one of the binding-plates. Fig. 6 is a top plan view of thelocking member detached. Fig. 7 is an enlarged view in elevation of aportion of one of the locking members, and Fig. 8 is a fragmental planview of one of the bindingplates. 1

Like numerals of reference refer to corresponding parts throughout'thedifferent views of the drawings.

The reference-numeral 12 represents one of the binding-plates, which inthe present instance I will designate as the lower plate and whichcomprises a horizontal or base portion 13 and an upright part 1 1 atright angles to each other. Each end of the upright portion 1 1 of theplate 12 is formed or provided with an inwardly-extending flange 15,which lies parallel with the portion 1 1-, but a slight distancetherefrom, as is clearly shown in Fig. 8 of thedrawings. The base 13 ofthe lower binding-plate is provided near each of its ends with anupturned hook 16 to engage the lower ends of securing-springs, as willbe presently explained. These books are preferably formed integral withthe base 13 by punching them out of the same, and thus leaving openings17, as is clearly seen in Figs. 5 and 8 of the drawings. The upperbinding-plate 18 comprises an angular piece having a vertical portion 19and a horizontal portion 20, which is in parallelism with the base 13when the parts are in operative position. The end portions of the upperplate 18 fit between the flanges 15 and the portion 14 of the lowerplate, which flanges will act as guides for the upper plate in itsvertical movements. Each end of the horizontal portion 20 of the upperplate is provided on its lower surface with a depending hook 21 toengage the upper ends of the locking members for the binding-plates. Thebinding-plate 12 is provided on the upper surface of its base orhorizontal portion 13 with a number of tubular projections 22 to receivea corresponding number of pins or projections 23, secured to the lowersurface of the horizontal portion 20 of the upper binding-plate. Theprojections 22 and 23 are preferably detachably secured to theirrespective plates by means of screw-threaded bosses 24, located on theiradjacent surfaces-as is clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawings.Located at each end of the bindingplates is a locking member therefor,which comprises a main tube 25, having atits upper endalaterally-projecting thumb-piece 26, and below the same an eye oropening 27 to receive and engage the upper end of a spiral spring 28,which is located in said tube and is surrounded by an auxiliary tube 29,which telescopes in the tube 25, as will be readily understood byreference to Figs. 3 and 5 of the drawings. The lower end of the spring28, which comprises a part of each of the locking members for thebinding-plates, is connected to the hook 16 on the lower one of saidplates, while its upper end is secured in the opening 27 which openingis also employed to receive the hook 21 on the upper binding-plate.

The operation is simple and as follows: The springs 28 of the lockingmembers are connected at their lower ends to the hooks 16 at each end ofthe lower plate, when by reason of the tension of the springs the tubes25 will be held with their lower ends near the base of said plate, whilethe inner tubes 29 of each of the locking members by reason of their.gravity will be held with their lower ends resting on or near the baseof the lower plate. By inserting the ends of the upper plate 18 betweenthe flanges 15 and the portion 14 of the lower plate it is apparent thatthe hooks 21 on the portion 20 of the upper plate may be caused toengage the openings 27 in the tubes 25 of the locking members, thusyieldingly but securely connecting the binding-plates together. In thisoperation it is evident that the rods or pins 23 will fit in the tubularprojections 22 and will telescope therewith.

The leaves or sheets 30, which it is desired to bind together, areprovided near one of their edges with openings suitably spaced toreceive the tubular projections 22, over which they are placed so thatthe leaves will lie flatly on the base portion 12 of the lowerbinding-plate, as is clearly shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. It isevident that by employing the yielding or spring-actuated lockingmembers for the binding-plates 12 and 18 that said plates may beseparated from one another, so as to hold a greater or less number ofleaves.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination with a lower bindingplate having a base portion andanother part at an angle thereto provided at each of its ends with aninturned flange, of an angular upper plate having portions located insaid flanged parts of the lower plate and another portion in a parallelplane with the said base, inwardly-extending projections on said plates,to telescope with one another, yielding connecting members looselyconnected at one end to the ends of the base of the lower plate, andeach having means at its other end to detachably connect it to one endof the upper plate, substantially as described.

2. The combination with two binding-plates each of which is angular incross-section and has a horizontal portion and a vertical portion, thevertical portion of one plate having at its ends inturned flanges toengage the ends of the vertical portion of the other plate,inwardly-extending projections on each of the horizontal parts of saidplates to telescope with one another, a locking member located at eachend of said plates, each of said locking members comprising a maintubular portion having at one of its ends a thumb-piece and below thesame an opening, a spiral spring located in said tubular piece andsecured at one of its ends in said opening and at its other end to thehorizontal portion of one of the plates, and an inner tube locatedaround the spring within the main tube, and means on the horizontalportion of the other plate to engage the opening in the main tube,substantially as described.

FREDA A. EFTOFIE.

Witnesses:

CHAS. O. TILLMAN, A. GUs'rArsoN.

